Their Pirate Princess

Sparks Fly on the Open Seas- Wren's POV

We set sail off the coast of North Carolina two days ago. It’s been slow going. Ash has done most of the work, but has taken the time to teach all of us the basics of sailing. Luke has picked it up the quickest out of all of us. So him and Ash take turns sailing. Luke sails during the day while Ash gets a few hours of sleep, then Ash takes over during the night.

The ocean has been pretty calm so far. Jamie was seasick the first day, but thankfully got over it pretty quickly. Luke and I have been fine so far. I’ve found the rocking motion of the boat pretty calming and find myself lulled into a deep sleep each night, except for tonight. Tonight I lay here tossing and turning, trying not to wake Jamie up, as we share a bed in the cabin.

Eventually I give up trying to fall asleep and head up to the cockpit where Ash is. He turns as I enter, his eyes raking over me, and that’s when I remember what I’m wearing. Although I took a quick shower before bed, I’m wearing the same pink silk pajamas I wore the night before, and I feel a thin sheen of sweat coating my forehead. Between his eyes on me and the cooler temperature in the cockpit I feel my n*****s pebble, my shirt rubbing against them, and recall I’m not wearing a bra. I resist the urge to cover them with my arms as I take a seat on the bench next to Ash’s chair.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He turns back to the wheel, but doesn’t grab it, and I assume he’s using the autopilot system the boat is equipped with. (Yeah, I questioned that too when Ash first told me the boat had autopilot.)

“No. I tried but I got tired of tossing and turning.” I look out at the stars, enjoying how bright they are when surrounded by complete darkness.

Ash follows my line of sight and points to the right a little bit, “That’s Ursa Major, the big dipper.”

“It’s really beautiful at night.” I comment. “Also scary, but mostly beautiful.”

He chuckles, “Yeah the darkness takes some getting used to.”

I take him in as he checks the navigation system. He seems so relaxed behind the wheel. His hair is tousled, like he’s been running his hand through it. He has on a basic gray t-shirt, black shorts, and his feet are bare. I realize the silence has gone on a stretch too long and try to think of conversation.

I ask the first thing that comes to mind. “How long have you been sailing?”

“I’ve been sailing since I could walk pretty much.” He answers, turning towards me. “My parents were big into sailing, and taught me as soon as I was old enough. We actually lived on a sailboat for a few years when I was younger.”

“That must have been exciting. Did you do a lot of travelling while you lived on it?” He starts telling me about all of the places he travelled to with his parents, and I listen intently. The way he talks with his hands is adorable, and I’m mesmerized by his facial expressions.

He finishes up the story he’s telling and I ask, “Do your parents still travel?”

His smile droops. “They both have passed away. My mom passed a few years ago from cancer, and my dad passed last year from a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry.” Without thinking I reach out and squeeze his hand. I worry I’ve overstepped, but then he squeezes mine back. “My parents died in a car crash when I was younger. I was raised by both sets of grandparents, but they’ve all passed away.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard losing them so young.” He’s still holding my hand, and I hope he doesn’t let go.

“It was. But I was very lucky to have amazing grandparents. They all got along great and taught me so much.”

“Your grandfather must have been pretty cool to own a boat like this.” He gestures to my grandfather’s journal. “And from the way he wrote he must have been pretty adventurous.

“He definitely had a lot of good bedtime stories. Although I think a lot of them were a little exaggerated.” I chuckle at the memories of some of his stories he told me, and Ash laughs.

“And now you get to keep his memory alive.” He gestures around the boat, and I nod my head.

“Thank you for helping me keep his memory alive.” If it wasn’t for Ash, this boat would have never left the dock. Between me, Jamie and Luke it probably would have ended up going through the dock.

“I’m glad I can help.” He squeezes my hand again and I look up at his face. He’s staring at me, his eyes searching my face. They stop at my lips and he swallows before looking back up into my eyes. I unconsciously lean a little closer and he takes that as his cue. He closes the distance and his lips gently meet mine. It’s a soft kiss at first, but the longer we kiss the more intense it gets. His hand that isn’t holding mine finds my bare upper thigh, right below my sleep shorts. At the same time he nips my bottom lip, and a moan leaves my mouth.

By the time we break apart I’m out of breath. He licks his lips and my attention is drawn back to his mouth. His lips tilt into a smirk, and I bring my attention back up to his eyes. His fingers trace the edge of my shorts, slipping slightly underneath them. He leans back in and as our lips are about to touch a throat clears. We quickly jump apart and I turn to see Luke standing in the companionway. He’s glaring at Ash’s hand on my thigh, and my cheeks turn beat red. Ash must notice his glare because he immediately removes his hand.

“Sorry, did I interrupt?” Luke asks with an edge to his voice. His gaze has wandered to Ash, but the glare hasn’t lessened any.

“No!” I say quickly and both of their gazes lock onto me. “I mean, no, you didn’t. We were just….” I stop talking, not knowing what else to say.

“Well it’s my shift to captain the boat.” He looks back at Ash who checks his watch.

“You’re actually about half an hour early.” Ash remarks, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

“Seems like I was right on time.” Luke challenges.

Neither of them say anything, the silence between us all tense. As I sit in the uncomfortable silence I wonder what happened between the two of them to cause this tension. I don’t remember them fighting, but obviously something is going on with them.

I stand up and both gazes shoot back to me, breaking their stare off. “I was actually just heading back to my cabin to try and get some more sleep.” I move toward the companionway and stop in front of Luke, waiting for him to move out of the way.

“Sure you were.” He crosses his arms, but still doesn’t move.

“Dude, quit with the attitude.” Ash snaps at him from behind me. Luke doesn’t respond and his assessing stare never leaves my face, but he finally moves just enough out of my way for me to squeeze by. My shoulder brushes him as I pass. I feel both sets of eyes on me as I make my way down below deck and I do my best not to stumble as I make my way to the cabin I share with Jamie.

I enter quietly, and gently climb back into the bed so I don’t wake her. As I lay there sleep still evades me. As the sun rises and Jamie wakes, I finally give up and get out of bed. As I get dressed I debate telling Jamie what happened last night to see if she knows why Ash and Luke are fighting, because I remain clueless.